Andrei Tarkovsky and the Art of Creating What You Mean

Once again adapting his narrative to his subject, Kogonada offers a poetic and hypnotic video essay on Andrei Tarkovsky with Auteur in Space. The piece focuses on Solaris and how Tarkovsky’s refusal of the genre’s concept made his take on science-fiction as singular is it can be, reinforcing instead his position as an auteur.

Having never studied film academically, debates between genres and auteurs feel foreign to me -and often a game of mind to compensate from a lack (or a full absence) of creation. But when makers use them and defend ideas and ideals through their actions, it is time to listen and ponder.

Obviously the point is not to say ‘Tarkovsky was right, genres don’t exist! Long live auteurs!‘ But rather If I think genres (don’t) exist, what are the practical implications in my work?

In Tarkovsky’s case, his belief lead him to take a radically different approach to what was expected from a science-fiction film and as you can see from the quote above (extracted from the video essay below), his stance had practical repercussions in the conceptualization of Solaris (and any of his movies).

Watch the full video essay below, a wonderful illustration of what creating what you mean can lead to:

It would be unthinkable today to hear those words from a filmmaker other than a documentarians, which shows how much Times have changed and explains the romantic nostalgia that surrounds filmmakers like Tarkovsky, Truffaut, Kurosawa and the likes.

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About Nathalie

Nathalie is a story fabricator and storyteller at heart. She created mentorless.com in 2011 to share content she thought useful to craft and nurture her storytelling and creative skills. To see more about what she does when she is not here, check www.nathaliesejean.com

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That Tarkovsky quote near the end of this article about being responsible for what they do while making their film, I assume it refers to the content of the film, not the actions taken while making the film. Perhaps the translation did not capture the full meaning because, of course, a filmmaker is responsible for what they do at all times, everyone is responsible for what they do at all times, right?

So if the filmmaker is morally responsible for the content of their film then this poses several more questions. 1. Who’s moral code must he adhere to? Is it his code or that of the society he lives in? These may not be fully congruent. 2. Does art not often challenge moral codes? Isn’t that an important part of meaningful art? 3. What responsibility does the viewer have in their interpretation of the images in that film? Anyone can decide to be offended by just about anything. Isn’t that their right too?

In our American society it is considered immoral to show certain anatomical parts of the human body but you can show simulations of that same body being abused and dismembered with total impunity. Are the makers of those images morally responsible for the audience becoming numbed to the display of such violence?

We are seeing the results of our soldiers being traumatized by the violence they are experiencing in our now perpetual state of war. Are we not suffering some of these same feelings from realistic depiction of violence that bombards us almost continual now in popular entertainment? I know that I felt a bit stunned for several days after binge-watching The Wire series. I’m still watching shows with violence and I’m not casting blame. I’m just trying to sort out my feelings about this and understand what Tarkovsky meant.

NOTE: I’m seen Tarkovsky’s 1972 version Solaris soon after watching Soderberg’s 2002 version. I was surprised to discover today that there is a 1968 television version. This is very good Science Fiction that started back when I was a lad.

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